Wellness Wednesday

Your Mental Physical State may be as Important as Your Actual Physical State
A recent study conducted by Stanford University researchers found that adults who believed they were more inactive than their peers tended to die earlier than their perceived more fit counterparts.

It's become a cultural phenomenon. Giving up on physical fitness has become a sort of liberation for many, claiming that the "Dad-Bod" isn't only okay to have, but is, in fact, the ideal look for attraction. While the attraction part has yet to be studied, another recent study conducted by Stanford University has found that the same group of people who believed they were more inactive and in favor of the "Dad-Bod" mentality, tended to die earlier than their more fit counterparts. 

The study reviewed and analyzed 60,000 surveys from adults in the US, categorized into three different data sets. The surveys documented the participants' levels of physical activity, health, and background, and in one of the cases wore an accelerometer for over a week. The researchers looked at the death records of participants from the first study, 21 years after the first survey was conducted. The researchers found that those who answered that they believed that they were less active than their more active counterparts, had a 71% increased chance of dying during the follow-up period of the survey.

 The inspiration for the study was based on the psychological basis that our mental state/mindset determines the outcomes of our everyday experiences. One of the lead researchers of the review, Octavia Zhart, had previously conducted an experiment where hotel cleaning staff were told that their work actually met the daily recommended amount of required fitness. The staff experienced weight loss, lower blood pressure, and other improved biomarkers. Based on the results of this study, along with the review of the three other health surveys, one might conclude that the placebo effect from positive mindset ultimately determines our health. So the next time you go to the gym and don't feel like your doing enough, change your mindset and improve your fitness routine and results!